Page 44 of Hunger & Harmony

“Noted,” he says back to her, and there’s only a couple of seconds before her shoes squeak into the distance.

I squirm where I sit, still aching for more as he turns from me. At this point, I’m not even too proud to beg.

But I swear I hear him. Just under his breath, or maybe only an echo between wrong notes, a whisper lingers long after he’s left the dressing room.

“You’ll be my undoing.”

11

SERENADE

“Idon’t know how! It just came undone!”

All it took was Ezren spotting my guilty face as I tried sneaking out of the kitchen. He’s now doubled over with laughter.

“You broke it?”

“I didn’t!” I whine defensively, holding up the detached spray nozzle. “It dislodged itself. Rudely.”

There’s a beat of silence as we solemnly stare at the hose that’s looking more like a limp noodle. I can’t help but snort at its sad state. Ezren almost falls over with laughter.

“It’s fine,” I say, my smile teetering on hysterical. “It’s symbolic. Like a metaphor for . . .I don’t know, my life right now.”

“You are cursed,” Ezren wheezes. “This is cursed.”

Maybe I am. My life is starting to feel that way. Even when I’m trying my best to do the right thing, just washing some dishes to help out, the kitchen sink of life just has to fall apart.

Getting to Velhollow was the easy part. Instead of a hotel, our lodging is a sprawling cabin on the outskirts of the city. Deciduous trees dot along the property, but the real feature is the cliff we’re tucked onto. Gray, turbulent waves crash onto rocks below, and even from the wraparound porch, you can see where the sea meets the stormy horizon. I’m a big fan of heights, but Selene already proclaimed that area off-limits.

I want to enjoy every bit of this. It’s a nice change of pace. Except each interaction with Niko is compounding, and this tightrope act is testing my balance.

His lingering eyes keep me spinning in his orbit. I’d give anything for his phantom touch to become real. I can’t dismiss the gentler side that has come out, either.

It’d be careless to ignore his willful deprivation, the pressure of his crown, and his hot and cold polarity, right? Maybe it’s all in my head. Am I naïve to think he’s seriously into me? Or to not think that?

This is too much thinking.

Footsteps approaching the kitchen catch my attention. My first instinct is to throw the nozzle into the sink. I hold my finger to my lips, desperate to get Ezren to stop giggling like a tattletale.

“Place your bets,” Ezren continues, clutching the island countertop to keep upright. “Will Selene or Lorelai kill you first?”

“It’s not like I was pulling on it roughly!”

“You’re not supposed to pull it without twisting it.” A voice floats from the entrance. “Always twist to the left first.”

“What? Who designs this stuff?” I whine before I hang my head.

“I can reattach it,” he says.

“Thanks, Cass,” I mumble, feeling beyond silly for this.

There’s a pause. My brows furrow. Then, I look up at him properly.

Cass. Not Cash, Cam, or whatever. His name is Cass. Why has that been so hard to remember? I peer at him standing in the arched entrance, trying to figure out that expression in the shadows of his hoodie. It’s not dissimilar to when he was spying on my phone, back on our way to Gravemont.

“Yeah, thanks, man,” Ezren says.

Without responding, Cass disappears back into the hallway. I’m too busy being confused by the weight of such a tiny moment to stop him.